Support for elastic bed-bottoms.



No. 7|6,054. Patented Dec. l6, I902. T. .KLIPFEL.

SUPPORT FOR ELASTIC BED BOTTOMS.

(Application filed Jan. 19, 1901.) I

(No Model.)

m: uunms PETERS co.. PuoTmumm. WASHINGTON. 04 c4 Urn-TED STATES F FICEQ PATENT THOMAS KLIPFEL, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO UNION WIRE MATTRESSOOMPANY, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION OF ILLINOIS.

SUPPORT FOR ELASTIC BED-BOTTOIVIS.

SPEUIFI CATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 716,054,

dated December 16, 1902- Application filed January 19, 1901. semi No. 43,843. (No model.)

gitudin ally-elastic fabric,usually woven wire,

secured to the end rails, and further provided with an auxiliaryl underlying web-like sup- ,port adapted to sustain the intermediate portion of the fabric whenin use; and the principal object of my invention is toprovide an underlying support for cooperation with .the elastic fabric ,ofsuch a construction as enables its tension to be varied and adjusted to compensate for the stretch resulting from use and wear.

Another object of the invention is to pro: vide. an auxiliary web'like support the area and form of which are capable of being considerably varied through a simple manipulation of a series of removable sliding clips cooperating with the longitudinal strands of the support,"thereby enabling the underlying supporting effect to be applied and distributed as desired over a greater or less extent of the intermediate portion of the undersurface of the bed-bottom.

I These objects are attained by a device embodying my invention and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a top plan view of the frame and of the longitudinal strands constituting the principal elements of the auxiliary support applied thereto, the top elastic fabric being omitted. Fig. 2 is a similar top plan View of the bed-bottom, showing my improved auxiliary support applied thereto in operative form and its mode of tensioning or adjustment being illustrated by dotted lines, the top fabric being broken away. Fig. 3 is an edge view. Fig. 4C is a fragmentary detail, in enlarged view, of one of the strands of the sup port. Fig. 5 is a detail illustrating in crosssection two of the adjacent strands of the .frame, as clearly shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 6 is a detail in perspective of one of the slidable clips for connecting thestrands of the support and effecting their tensioning.

Referring to the drawings in detail, A designates the side rails, B the end rails, and O the longitudinal elastictop woven-wire fabric common inbed-bottoms of this class. This underlying auxiliary support, in which the novel elements and features of my invention are comprehended, consists, substantially, of a series of coiled-wire strands (designated by F.) fixedly and independently connected at their ends to the end rails of the frame and entirely unconnected with the. side rails there of, these strands being arranged in parallel pairs which are spaced at intervals across the The in dividual strands E are flexible longitudinally, being preferably made in the coiled-wire form indicated in Fig. 4, this form of strand best combining the desirable features of lightness,

strength, and elasticity.

In connection with the strands disposed as above described I employ in carrying out my invention means for associating and connecting said strands sidewise in such a fashion as to constitute thereof a web-like support for the intermediate portion of the bed-bottom, the formation and extent of which may be more or less varied, this web formation being produced by devices which at thesame time serve to effect any desired adjustment in respect to tension of the auxiliary support, thus adapting the bed-bottom as'a whole to sustain varying weights or a constant weight with varying degrees of elasticity and yield. This association of the longitudinal strands and pairs of strands constituting the auxiliary support is effectedby means of a plurality of clips, each consisting, as herein shown, of a plain strip of sheet metal bent into the oblong form shown inFigs. 5 and 6, the adjacent ends of the strip being separated to provide an opening e whereby the clip may be passed over a pair of adjacent strands, so as to embrace and hold the latter in close parallel relation, as indicated in Fig.

5, thisconstruction of clip'and mode of association with the strands enabling the clip to be readily adjusted longitudinally of the latter for various purposes, as hereinafter more particularly described. It will also be observed by reference to the drawings that certain of these clips are employed to unite theindividual strands of each pair, as shown, for instance, at 6, while other clips (indicated by e) are employed to unite adjacent strands of adjoining pairs. It will also be observed that the transverse groups of clips 6, uniting the strands of the individual pairs, alternate with the companion groups of clips uniting adjacent strands of adjoining pairs. The application of these clips in the manner and relation described results in the formation of an intermediate web-like support, the longitudinal extent of which varies according to the extent to which the two end groups of clips 6, uniting the individual strands of each pair, are forced toward the center of the strands. It will be obvious that the closer the series of clips e and e are forced toward each other and toward the center of the web the greater will be the tension upon the strands and the less yielding will be the support as a whole, as indicated by the dotted-line portions in Fig. 2, while the nearer the end clips are adjusted toward the end rails of the support the greater will be the longitudinal area of the web and correspondingly less will be its tension and resistance to flexing. In this way by a mere sliding manipulation of the clips the bed-bottom may be adjusted to support varying weights with the desired degree of elasticity. It will also be observed that in the described construction and arrangement of the elements shown the intermediate weblike support is connected to the head and foot rails of the frame bya series of parallel elastic strands. This produces a desirable and economical construction, since a webbed surface is required only beneath the intermediate portion of the woven-wire covering which sustains the greatest weight, while the parallel longitudinal connecting-strands at the head and foot of the frame do not carry any great weight, but supply the required tensional strength to make the supporting character of the webbed surface effective.

I am aware that auxiliary bed-bottom supports of this general nature have heretofore been devised in which a single cord or strand has been passed to and fro from end to end of the supporting-frame and over hooks or like supports on the end and side rails with reference to which the cable or strand has a slipping movement, these strands being united laterally by clips capable of longitudinal adjustment to form a web-like support. I am also aware that an underlying auxiliary support in the nature of a single pair of endwiseelastic strands secured to the end rails and united by a pair of adjustable loops or clips has also been proposed; but it will be ob- [served that my invention is distinguished from these constructions in the employment of aseries of pairs of endwise-elastic strands, which pairs are fixedly and independently connected to the end rails and disconnected from the side rails of the frame in association with connecting-clips arranged in two series, one of which unites the individual strands of each pair and the other of which unites the adjacent strands of adjoining pairs, both series of clips being movable along and over said strands to vary the tension thereof and so disposed as to produce a web-like surface connected to the head and foot rails by parallellongitudinal strands. This peculiar construction and arrangement possesses a distinct ad vantage over present known constructions in that it enables the tension of the auxiliary support on opposite longitudinal halves of the bed-bottom frame to be varied to any desired extent to accommodate varying weights of users thereof where the device is employed in connection with a double bed designed to accommodate two occupants. In view of the fact that double beds are often occupied by-persons of widely-varying weights it is a great desideratum in order to prevent an unsightly and undesirable distortion or sag of one half of the bed-bottom relatively to the other to be able to tension the two halves proportionately to the weights to besupported thereby. This cannot be done in a construction where the tension resulting from the application of a weight to one side of the frame is necessarily transmitted to the other, as in-constructions where a single interwoven strand is employed in connection with sliding supports upon the end or side rails of the frame.

I claim- 1. An elastic bed bottom comprising in combination a rectangular frame, an elastic woven fabric stretched therein, and an auxiliary elastic and adjustable support for said fabric consisting of a series of pairs of longitudinally-elastic cords or strands each connected fixedly and independently to the end rails and disconnected from the side rails of the frame, and clips engaging the individual strands of each pair, and other clips en gaging adjacent strands of adjoining pairs, in such a manner that the cords or strands of the elastic support run parallel for a considerable distance from each end of the frame and are united by the clips only at the central portion thereof, substantially as described.

2. An elastic bed-bottom comprising in combination a rectangular frame, an elastic woven fabric stretched therein, and an auxiliary elastic and adjustable support for said fabric consisting of a series of pairs of longitudinally-elastic cords or strands, each connected fixedly and independently to the end rails and disconnected from the side rails of the frame, a series of transverse groups of adjustable clips engaging the individual strands of each pair, and another series of end of the frame and are united by the clips transverse groups of adjustable clips alteronly at the central portion thereof, substannately arranged relatively to the first-mentially as described.

tioned groups and engaging adjacent strands THOMAS KLIPFEL. 5 of adjacent pairs, in such a manner that the Witnesses:

cords or strands of the elastic support run ELENORA KRAFT,

parallel for a considerable distance from each ANNIE M. ADAMS. 

